‘Maintain calm’ and ‘exercise patience’ UN envoy urges, as Nigeria heads to polls
Feb 16, 2019, at 10:18 am
New York, Feb 16 (IBNS): As Nigerians get ready to head to the polls on Saturday, the Head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), described the pre-election period as “largely, peaceful and participatory”, and called for that spirit to prevail through election day and beyond.
UN and partners appeal for $920 million to meet ‘dire needs’ of Rohingya refugees
Feb 16, 2019, at 09:58 am
New York, Feb 16 (IBNS):With more than 745,000 Rohingya having fled violence in Myanmar to settle in Bangladesh, joining roughly 200,000 others already sheltering there, United Nations aid agencies and partners launched an appeal on Friday to help meet their “dire needs".
Biggest ever UN aid delivery in Syria provides relief to desperate civilians
Feb 16, 2019, at 09:52 am
New York, Feb 16 (IBNS): The biggest UN humanitarian convoy yet to operate inside Syria has successfully distributed aid to 40,000 desperate people in a hard-to-access desert camp near the country’s southern border with Jordan, the Organization announced on Friday.
Feb 16, 2019, at 09:31 am
New York, Feb 16 (IBNS): A “peaceful and just solution” to the Israel-Palestine conflict can “only be achieved” through two States “living side-by-side in peace and security”, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres reiterated on Friday
Aurora shooting: Five dead as gunman attacks workplace
Feb 16, 2019, at 09:21 am
Washington, Feb 16 (IBNS): A gunman opened fire at an industrial park in the US state of Illinois which left at least five people dead, media reports said on Saturday.
‘Endemic’ sexual violence surging in South Sudan: UN human rights office
Feb 16, 2019, at 08:56 am
New York, Feb 16 (IBNS): A surge in sexual violence in South Sudan’s Unity state targeting victims as young as eight years old, has prompted a call from the UN human rights office, OHCHR, for urgent Government measures to protect victims, and bring perpetrators to justice.
Nearly 1 in 5 children living in areas affected by armed conflict: Study
Feb 15, 2019, at 04:44 pm
New York, Feb 15 (IBNS): More children are living in areas affected by armed conflict and war than at any time in more than 20 years, according to a new report published by Save the Children. Stop the War on Children: Protecting Children in 21stCentury Conflict reveals that 420 million children—nearly one in five—were living in conflict-affected areas in 2017, up 30 million from the previous year.
Security Council condemns ‘heinous and cowardly’ attack in Iran
Feb 15, 2019, at 09:20 am
New York, Feb 15 (IBNS): The United Nations Security Council has condemned “in the strongest terms” Wednesday’s “heinous and cowardly” terrorist attack in south-east Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan Province.
Humanitarian crisis in Yemen remains the worst in the world, warns UN
Feb 15, 2019, at 09:13 am
New York, Feb 15 (IBNS): An estimated 24 million people – close to 80 per cent of the population – need assistance and protection in Yemen, the UN warned on Thursday. With famine threatening hundreds of thousands of lives, humanitarian aid is increasingly becoming the only lifeline for millions across the country.
UN agencies call for action to bolster rights of Europe’s stateless children
Feb 15, 2019, at 09:04 am
New York, Feb 15 (IBNS): United Nations agencies are calling on States and regional organizations across Europe to take urgent action to ensure that thousands of currently stateless children are given the support and protection they deserve.
Feb 15, 2019, at 08:58 am
New York, Feb 15 (IBNS): French protesters’ rights have been “disproportionately curtailed” during the wave of recent “gilet jaunes”, or yellow jacket demonstrations across the country over Government economic policies, said a group of independent UN human rights experts on Thursday.
UN chief hails victory of ‘political will’ in historic Republic of North Macedonia accord
Feb 15, 2019, at 08:49 am
New York, Feb 15 (IBNS): The UN-brokered agreement between Athens and Skopje to formally recognize the “Republic of North Macedonia”, is a welcome, “historical” step that should be supported by regional and international Member States, António Guterres has announced.
-1550116683.jpg "Top UN court rules it has jurisdiction to hear Iranian claim against US over frozen assets")
Top UN court rules it has jurisdiction to hear Iranian claim against US over frozen assets
Feb 14, 2019, at 09:28 am
New York, Feb 14 (IBNS): The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled on Wednesday that is has the jurisdiction to hear part of a case brought by Iran against the United States, aimed at unfreezing close to $2 billion in Iranian assets being held there.
Feb 14, 2019, at 09:25 am
New York, Feb 14 (IBNS): Despite some positive developments following years of brutal conflict, Iraq is gripped by political stalemate and a continued humanitarian crisis that is hampering the stabilization of the country, the head of the UN Assistance Mission in the country, (UNAMI), Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, told the Security Council on Wednesday.
LGBT community in Chechnya faces ‘new wave of persecution’: UN human rights experts
Feb 14, 2019, at 09:18 am
New York, Feb 14 (IBNS): People in Chechnya who are suspected of being lesbian, gay or bisexual, are facing a “new wave of persecution” following a spate of killings involving torture, and other rights abuses, said a group of independent UN human rights experts on Wednesday.
Radio still a powerful worldwide tool for ‘dialogue, tolerance and peace’: Guterres
Feb 14, 2019, at 09:15 am
New York, Feb 14 (IBNS): Radio is a powerful tool that continues to promote “dialogue, tolerance and peace,” United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said in message on Thursday, marking World Radio Day.
Tashkent to host an International conference attracting over 100 top experts
Feb 13, 2019, at 10:27 am
Tashkent , Feb 13 (IBNS): On February 19-20, Tashkent will host an international conference titled “Interconnectedness in Central Asia: Challenges and New Opportunities”, Foreign Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulaziz Kamilov told during a briefing.
Uzbekistan to open green corridors with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus and Baltic countries
Feb 13, 2019, at 10:16 am
Tashkent, Feb 13 (IBNS): Standardization and certification of export goods does not meet the requirements, most of the standards do not meet world standards, which creates serious difficulties in exports.
Feb 13, 2019, at 09:43 am
New York, Feb 13 (IBNS): “Civilians continue to pay the highest price” arising from Ukraine’s on-going conflict with separatist rebels in the east, the UN Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator told the Security Council on Tuesday, a conflict which is still claiming lives.
Thousands flee fresh violence in South Sudan, many ‘suffering from trauma’
Feb 13, 2019, at 09:37 am
New York, Feb 13 (IBNS): Over the past few days thousands of desperate civilians have been fleeing a fresh outbreak of violence in South Sudan’s Equatoria state, seeking safety in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), many “suffering from trauma.”
‘Urgent need’ to stop Mali violence with ‘effective’ military response: UN expert
Feb 13, 2019, at 09:29 am
New York, Feb 13 (IBNS): The state of human rights and security across Mali is a “cause of grave concern,” the independent UN rights expert for the northwest African nation said in a statement on Tuesday, in which he called for an “effective military response” to end the violence and protect the civilian population.
Feb 12, 2019, at 10:03 am
New York, Feb 12 (IBNS): Opposition-led protests in Haiti calling for the president to step down, which sparked violence last week, have prompted a group of senior diplomats, included the top UN official there, to issue a statement deploring the loss of life and calling for dialogue to end the crisis.
Despite falling attacks, ISIL terrorists remain ‘global threat’: UN report
Feb 12, 2019, at 09:56 am
New York, Feb 12 (IBNS): Though attacks were down last year, a new United Nations report to the Security Council on Monday shows that ISIL is still a global threat, despite evolving into a “covert” terrorism network, with countries continuing to face challenges from the growing scourge of violent extremism.
Judicial independence under threat in Nigeria, warns UN rights expert
Feb 12, 2019, at 09:44 am
New York, Feb 12 (IBNS): The dismissal of Nigeria’s Chief Justice may constitute a grave attack on judicial independence from the State, a UN-appointed independent rights expert said on Monday, warning of “threats, pressures and interferences” made against the lawyers defending him.
Food for millions in Yemen at risk of rotting in key Red Sea port, warns UN
Feb 12, 2019, at 09:38 am
New York, Feb 12 (IBNS): Desperately needed food aid for millions of Yemenis “is at risk of rotting” in a key Red Sea storage facility because conditions are too unsafe to reach it, UN Special Envoy Martin Griffiths and UN Emergency relief chief Mark Lowcock said on Monday
Service and sacrifice of African peacekeepers ‘at the forefront of our minds’: UN chief
Feb 11, 2019, at 08:56 am
New York, Feb 11 (IBNS): UN Secretary-General António Guterres has thanked African Member States and the African Union Commission for supporting peace operations in Africa, saying that the service and sacrifice of African peacekeepers is “at the forefront of our minds.”
Hindi to be official court language in Abu Dhabi
Feb 10, 2019, at 08:32 pm
Abu Dhabi, Feb 10 (IBNS): Hindi will be the third official court language in Abu Dhabi after Arabic and English, The Times of India said.
Uyghur Turks: Turkey demands China to close camps
Feb 10, 2019, at 07:23 pm
Ankara, Feb 10 (IBNS): The Turkey government on Sunday described Beijing's controversial mass "re-education" camps of Uyghur Turks in China's western region of Xinjiang as 'a great shame for humanity'.
Feb 10, 2019, at 06:12 pm
London, Feb 10 (IBNS): Teenagers accounted for more than 1,000 admissions to hospital as a result of assaults with a knife or sharp object last year, NHS figures show.
Earthquake hits Iran, tremors felt in UAE
Feb 10, 2019, at 06:01 pm
Tehran, Feb 10 (IBNS): An earthquake measuring 5.3 on the Richter Scale hit Iran on Sunday as tremors of it were felt in the UAE, as per USGS website.